Second Opinion
by Michael2
Summary: A young life. A young life with hopes and dreams. In one night, in a senseless crime, that young life is snuffed out. Hopes and dreams evaporate into the aether. Families and friends are devastated. Standing accused is a Marine believed to have defied his oath. When NCIS is called to assist, what will they find?
1. Chapter 1

Kaya LaGrange boards the Amtrak Carolinian train at Penn Station in Baltimore, Maryland. Many of the seats are empty. Those passengers in the train are in various shapes and sizes, wearing a wide variety of clothing. Kaya's current outfit is a little on the shabby side. She wears a fully-loaded backpack.

"There's a seat for us, baby," says her husband Lonnie, taking a window seat. He too, is similarly shabbily-dressed and wears a fully-loaded backpack.

"I wish we didn't have to do this," protests his wife. "I just want to stay in Baltimore."

"I told you about me years ago," answers Lonnie. "I told you I might have to leave at a moment's notice. And yet, you stuck by me."

"But our home."

"Wherever we go will be home."

Kaya sits at a seat close to the aisle. She rubs her pregnant belly. "I wish we could have said goodbye at least. And you didn't even give notice to your bosses."

The Amtrak train soon moves along the railroad, leaving Penn Station. Lonnie looks out the window at the city of Baltimore. It felt like home for a few years, like a place he really belonged. He would miss his fellow volunteers. He even recalls the time he managed to scrounge up enough savings to go to an Orioles game with his friends last year.

Lonnie had no more of a desire to leave Baltimore than Kaya did.

But given his circumstances, it is a necessary evil.

The interior of the passenger cabin darkens a little as the train passes through a tunnel under the streets of Baltimore. After a few minutes, the passenger cabin brightens as the train leaves the tunnel and goes out into the exposed daylight under the April sun.

An alarm bell in Lonnie's head rings when he feels the train come to stop in the middle of the track, far too early to have made it to the next station.

"We are experiencing a temporary delay," says an announcer. "Please remain calm."

Lonnie's heartbeat races. He holds his wife's hand.

"Baby, there might just be a traffic jam and the train has to stop until it's clear," she says.

"Maybe you're right," he replies nervously. "I just have to sit here."

The two of them, as well as the other passengers, wait a few minutes. The other passengers murmur, speculating on the cause of the delay.

They get there answer when several police officers in riot gear enter the train. A dark man with tightly-curled black hair, clad in a suit, holds his palm up.

"Remain calm," he says, showing his badge. "this is the Baltimore police. We just ask for your cooperation."

He then makes eye contact with Lonnie. Lonnie LaGrange is breathing heavily.

"That's him, peeps," he says. "We got our catch. Let's reel him in."


	2. Chapter 2

Naval Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo sits at his desk. He is looking at the monitor screen of his desktop computer, wrapping up the paperwork from that case involving an extortionist pretending to be him.

 _Burned again by a woman I was dating_ , he thinks even as he types on the keyboard. He can not entirely just remove his attention from this latest dud. He is, after all, going to meet with the United States Attorney later this week regarding this case- and her.

He glances around the squad room of the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), an agency that investigates crimes involving the United States Department of the Navy. The squad room has almost been a second home to him, with cubicles and desks, with Agents Timothy McGee and Eleanor Bishop, doing the paperwork on the various cases that the team works on, paperwork that would be omitted if producers from Hollywood turned their experiences into a feature film.

He feels a buzz in his coat pocket, instantly recognizing it as his cellular telephone. He looks at the screen and glances at the number, ready to reject the call if it is from some solicitor trying to sell vacation rentals or debt counseling services or life insurance.

Instead, he recognizes the number as that of the Baltimore Police Department. He presses the button on the screen to answer.

"Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, NCIS," he answers.

"Tony, it's Jason," says the voice' "Jason King."

"Jason," replies Tony, remembering that Jason King was a detective with Baltimore. "How are you doing?"

"Great," replies the Baltimore detective. "And you?"

"Well, my personal life had a…little speed bump. You called from the police land line, so I'm assuming this isn't a social call."

"It's not, Tony. We arrested a suspect for rape and murder today. We managed to grab him before he could escape by train."

"All right, Jason. How is this under Navy jurisdiction?"

"The guy we arrested deserted the Marines thirteen years ago. That means any murders he does is under your jurisdiction, right?"

"Right," says Tony. "Send over as much information as you can. Expect a call from me or by boss, Agent Gibbs. We might set up an appointment."

"Talk to you later," says Detective King.

Tony presses the button to hang up the cell phone.

"What's up, Tony?" asks Agent McGee.

"If you have any late night plans with Delilah, take a rain check," replies DiNozzo. "We might be going to Baltimore tomorrow morning."

Tim had been dating Delilah Fielding, an intelligence analyst with the Department of Defense, for years. Tony knows that Delilah was pretty much whom she said she was- not that he would ever admit to McGee or anyone else how he knows that.

Oooooooooo

NCIS Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs parks the Ford Crown Victoria at the visitor parking lot of the Baltimore Police Headquarters. He, Agent Anthony DiNozzo, and Agent Timothy McGee step out. They had been on an hour-and-a-half drive starting around 7:30 A.M., mostly on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

The three agents walk through one of the entrances and along a corridor, passing uniformed police officers. Going up an elevator, they enter a squad room. It is somewhat different than the MCRT Squad Room in NCIS Headquarters, in that the desks are not divided by cubicles.

"Tony," says Detective Jason King, greeting the three agents. He looks at the silver-haired man with tony. "And you must be Gibbs."

"That, right," replies Gibbs. He looks at the Baltimore detective- late twenties, dark skin, tightly-curled black hair. They had worked with King before, including an arson case involving classified information from the Navy.

"Detective Zack Stone," says a brown-haired man in a suit, extending his hand. "I'm Jason's partner."

"Tony DiNozzo," calls out a deep voice. Tony turns around, seeing a bald, dark-skinned man wearing a suit and sitting in a motorized wheelchair.

"Ben Brooks?" asks the NCIS agent. "Still with the State's Attorney?"

"Yes, I am, Detective."

"Agent DiNozzo, now. Will you be prosecuting Corporal LaGrange?"

"I am assigned to his case, yes."

"Detective King," says McGee. "Why did you suspect Corporal LaGrange?"

"He was a local man," answers King. "He lived here for a couple of years. He denied knowing Jerrica Reynolds. But we found out we volunteered in the same charity she did, and we found a picture with both of them. We're lucky we managed to take Mr. LaGrange into custody before the train left Baltimore."

"And Corporal LaGrange is in jail now?"

"He's in holding pending transfer to the jail," says Stone.

"We'll seek remand," says ASA Brooks. "Mr. LaGrange won't be going anywhere until his trial."

"I've heard you have a great crime lab," says King. "Our ME hasn't had time to examine the body. Your people could get faster results. We could have enough evidence to put LaGrange away for good."

"Or you could have the wrong guy," says Gibbs.

"The wrong guy?" asks King.

"I could tell you over three hundred stories, how so many cases have these twists and turns," says DiNozzo. "Almost like one of those cop shows, where the suspect is never the first choice."

"I think we got the right guy," replies the detective. "But if we're pointing the finger in the wrong direction, I'd rather know earlier than later, I guess."

Oooooooooooo

Tony DiNozzo and Timothy McGee walk along the brick pathways the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The buildings of the university are basically made of red brick. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is one of the most prestigious research universities in the United States.

The two NCIS agents approach an eatery where some students, most of them under the age of twenty-three, all clad in various styles of casual clothes, sit around tables eating various sorts of food.

The two agents show their badges.

"Oh, you're the old people who were asking about Jerrica," says one of the girls.

"Old people?" asks McGee. His memories of being a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are relatively fresh, along with the random years before becoming an NCIS agent. He certainly did not feel as if he could be described as old.

"We want to ask about Jerrica Reynolds," says DiNozzo.

"Oh, Jerrica," says the girl, sipping a soft drink from a cup. "I spoke to the Baltimore police about this already. What do you want to know?'

"What she did all day."

"Studying. She spent time with us girls. She often volunteered in the 'hood at a youth center. She has this thing for kids. She was considering to be a teacher or a nanny."

"Was she dating anyone?" asks McGee.

"She was on a few dates with this guy Charlie. I don't know his last name or anything, only that he graduated from here a few years wasn't serious yet. I met him once. He seemed nice."

"Did you know anyone who might have had a problem with her?" asks DiNozzo. "Who might have wanted to hurt her?"

The girl sniffles. "Only the guy that actually killed her," she replies. "I just can't believe…"

The two agents both know that they would not get any more information from her than the Baltimore detectives did.

"Okay, McGeezer," says Tony. "Let's go."

"McGeezer?" asks Tim.

Ooooooooo

"His wife told me the cops arrested Lonnie while they were on the train," says the man in a scruffy coat. "I can't believe he was arresting for killing that girl. I mean, Lonnie's gonna be a father himself in a few months."

Agent Leroy Gibbs is in a homeless shelter in Baltimore. It is basically Spartan in nature, with some tables and benches where food is served.

"Listen, the cops already spoke to me, and I've got go to the kitchen to prepare food. Is there anything you need to ask about Lonnie?"

"Did you know he's a Marine?" asks Gibbs.

"He enlisted just after he graduated high school," replies the man. "He got hurt and was discharged just before the invasion of Iraq. He volunteered here just after he moved to Baltimore. I was a veteran of Iraq. You know, I used to think less of homeless veterans. I mean, you learn responsibility and stuff in the Army and Marines. Then I became one. I had to sleep here. That's how I met Lonnie. I'm not homeless anymore, but I volunteer here on my days off work. I don't look down on the poor anymore."

"Corporal Lonnie LaGrange is wanted for desertion," says Gibbs.

"Desertion?" asks the man. "No way! I can't believe."

"He skipped rollcall, never reported in. Never voluntarily surrendered himself for thirteen years."

The man, who himself had served in combat, lost friends, took a breath, contemplating this new information that he just heard, information that could change his opinion of a man that he knew for three years. "Lonnie's gonna have to answer for that," he says. "But he still helped me out; helped me get back on my feet."

Oooooooooo

Dozens of children, all in clothes half their age, play outside on the playground, sliding down the slides and holding onto the bars of the jungle gym. Tony looks at the playing children. Something about that scene is tugging at him. Clouds hide the sky overhead.

"I love kids," says Charlie. "They're resilient. Even with their home life, they can outgrow it. I..we give them hope, show them a better path, make them feel wanted."

"Jerrica Reynolds volunteered here, right?" asks the NCIS agent.

"Yeah, she was attending Johns Hopkins. I graduated from there. But I guess you know that."

"Yeah. You dated her, right?"

"We went on a few dates. Jerrica wanted to help kids, you know."

"What did you do here?" asks Tim.

"We supervise the playground, we organize games, we read to them. Sometimes we take them to field trips like the Inner Harbor. One weekend we even went on a field trip to the White House. The President was overseas at the time, but…"

A girl in pink suspenders, looking about ten years of age, runs up to Charlie.

"Charlie," says the girl, her tightly-curled black hair tied in pigtails. "We're going inside and play cards, right?"

The two agents look at the red brick-lined building used as a recreational center for children.

"I need to talk to these two police agents, Keisha" he says. "Now be a good girl." He pats her on the head.

"I miss Jerrica."

"Me too. I'll make sure you get a special treat."

"So Lonnie also volunteered here," says DiNozzo.

"Yeah, he and his wife," answers Charlie. "They also volunteered at the homeless shelter a few blocks from here.. They were expecting a child. I just can't believe Lonnie could have killed her. But now I am wondering why this NCIS is involved?"

"Lonnie deserted the Marine Corps, which means this case is also under our jurisdiction," says McGee. "We can get the forensics back much faster than the state crime lab."

"That's great!" exclaims Charlie. "We're like a secondary family here. The kids and their families, they all attended a memorial service for Jerrica down in Washington. Her dad paid for a bus to take us all down there."

"We could have the case closed by tomorrow," says DiNozzo.

Ooooooooooo

"Here he is," says Detective Jason King.

The interrogation room is bare except for a table and some folding chairs. Aside from Detectives King and Stone and Agent Gibbs, two other people are in the room. One is a woman with blond hair, clad in a gray suit. The other, clad in an orange jumpsuit, is United States Marine Corps Corporal Lonnie LaGrange.

"We're not here to answer questions," says the woman, who is clearly the corporal's lawyer.

"Then I am here to send a message," says Gibbs. "I am a Marine Corps veteran," he says to LaGrange. "I took the same oath you did. I even served in combat, putting my life on the line. But you did not. When you were called to serve, you fled. You betrayed your oath. I have seen the graves. I've seen veterans who came back without arms or legs. And you abandoned them. You are a coward."

Lonnie LaGrange remains silent; his face reveals a feeling of shame.

"We have the best forensics lab in the country. We'll conduct tests tomorrow. If it proves you killed Jerrica Reynolds, you're done."

LaGrange bows his head, scared for his future, wondering if he will even get to hold his child.


	3. Chapter 3

NCIS Agents Timothy McGee and Eleanor Bishop step out of the Ford Crown Victoria parked on a street in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.. The street looks like a typical residential street in Georgetown, with houses all lined up in rows. McGee walks up the steps leading to the front door of one of the houses. The door opens, and the two agents see a dark-skinned man in his fifties. He has tightly-curled black hair and wears a rouge wool-knit sweater.

"Captain Reynolds," says McGee, showing his badge.

"Come on in," replies the man.

McGee and Bishop walk through the door. The living room is cozy, with the sofas and chairs making them feel as if they are invited. On the mantle there are many pictures of Jerrica Reynolds, always smiling. The most prominent picture is of her in a cap-and-gown for her 2014 high school graduation, with a tassel indicating that she had graduated with highest honors.

"I still remember when the Baltimore police came here last week, told me about Jerrica" says Ronald Reynolds. "I remember them driving me to Baltimore. I remember seeing her body at the morgue. It..it feels like a fog over my life. She's my angel!"

"I'm sorry, Captain Reynolds," says Agent Bishop. "What was her life like?"

"She was smart, outgoing, athletic. You can see that she did well in high school. As you might know, she attended Johns Hopkins to get a degree in child development, and she volunteered for at-risk children in Baltimore."

"Why did she choose that?"

"I grew up in the ghetto of Baltimore. I managed to study my ass off, got admitted to Kings Point, went into active duty in the Navy after graduation. Jerrica wanted to help children from the same place I grew up in, show them a path to the kind of life I made for my family.

"Growing up, I've had classmates and friends gunned down senselessly. But now that this happened to my own child."

Memories surface in the mind of the retired Navy captain. He remembers holding Jerrica for the first time at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Naples, Italy. He remembers her first words, her early attempts at walking, her first day at school, birthday parties, seeing her dressed up for school dances, her high school graduation including the pizza party that came afterwards, helping her move during her freshman year at Johns Hopkins.

And then more memories, memories of the two men who appeared at his door, showing their badges, saying what happened. The eerie coldness of her body at the morgue…

Reynolds takes a while to regain his composure. "You know, Agent McGee, I was at your father's funeral at Arlington, about a year after I retired. He was my commanding officer around the time Jerrica was born."

McGee reminisces on the funeral. There were plenty of U.S. military personnel, active and retired, all in their neatly pressed dress uniforms. He recalls the Navy chaplain reading the eulogy. "I didn't know you were there."

"I was just one Navy officer out of a hundred that attended," says Reynolds. "Now why is NCIS involved? The Baltimore police arrested someone for Jerrica's murder."

"They arrested a Marine deserter and invited us to the case," answers McGee. "Our lab could actually get the forensics done by tomorrow. The case could be ready for prosecution by next week."

"That's great. If you have a solid case, maybe there won't be a trial."

"Captain Reynolds, have there been any issues at your current job?" asks McGee, knowing that Reynolds has been the CEO of a defense contracting firm headquartered in Alexandria for a year now.

"Nothing except all the hassle of running a big business," replies the retired Navy captain. "I took the job after two years of relaxing. And no, Jerrica was not involved with the company. Why do you ask?"

"We don't know what the lab will report," says Bishop. "We just want to gather as many possible leads."

Ooooooooo

The next morning, Baltimore Assistant State's Attorney Benjamin Brooks pushes the joystick of his wheelchair with his left hand, causing the electric motors to spin and turn the wheels and move the wheelchair into a courtroom inside the Maryland District Court for Baltimore city. The courtroom is as familiar to him as how own apartment, with the bench for the judge, the witness stands, the tables for the litigants, and the seats of rows for courtroom spectators. Uniformed bailiffs stand stern, keeping watch.

The hearing is a typical bail hearing. Those arrested by the Baltimore Police Department would appear here, the charges read aloud, and the bail amount set if necessary.

Two uniformed officers escort Lonnie LaGrange into the courtroom via the prisoners' entrance. His attorney is with him. Ben recognizes her as Naomi Wilde, from the Public Defender's office.

A bailiff reads out the docket number.

The judge, a woman with light brown hair, looks at the prosecutor.

"Bail?" she asks.

"The people seek remand, your Honor," replies Brooks.

"Reasons?"

"For one thing, the defendant, Corporal LaGrange of the United States Marine Corps, has outstanding charges for desertion. He was arrested by the police while on a train heading away from Baltimore. The Marines want him delivered to their custody as soon as state court proceedings regarding the rape and murder charges have been concluded."

"Miss Wilde," asks the judge, "do you have anything to add to help this court reach the proper decision?"

"Ma'am, Corporal LaGrange has lived in Baltimore for three years," replies Wilde. "He made no attempts to conceal his identity. He volunteers at an after-school program for children and a homeless shelter. He is married and is expecting a baby in five months. He has no passport. He clearly has ties to this community."

"And he used to have ties to the Marine Corps community until he cut them loose," says the judge. "Bail is denied. Defendant shall remain in custody until disposal of the rape and murder charges against him. Arraignment is set for May 17th. Next case."

The judge bangs the gavel, and immediately the officers escort the Marine corporal out through the prisoner's entrance.

"Mr. Brooks," says Wilde, approaching the prosecutor. "Can we discuss a deal?"

"I've been informed that the Navy is expecting to have DNA testing results done by the end of today. For all we know, Mr. LaGrange is the wrong guy. We can meet to discuss a possible plea deal after the results come back."

Oooooooooooo

"Okay, McGee," says NCIS Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, "Let's summarize this case."

"Okay, Boss," replies Agent Timothy McGee, pressing a button on a remote control. "Victim's name is Jerrica Reynolds, nineteen years old. She was a sophomore at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, did volunteer work in the city." The NCIS agents look at a screen and see pictures of Jerrica. They see the picture of her high school graduation from 2014, pictures of her with some friends from college, including a picture of them at a Baltimore Orioles game.

"And the suspect?"

"Corporal Lonnie LaGrange, United States Marine Corps," answers McGee. The agents all see an older picture of LaGrange. He appeared to be in his early twenties, and was clad in the Marine Corps dress blues. "Thirty-five years old, grew up in foster care after his mother gave him up after birth- she was sixteen at the time. He enlisted in the Corps in 1998 after graduating high school. He failed to show up for duty on March 12, 2003. A month later, formal desertion charges were filed against him. He drifted around the country, working odd jobs, before settling in Baltimore. He works as a groundskeeper and a bartender. He married his wife Kaya last year. Most importantly, she, like Jerrica Reynolds, did volunteer work in Baltimore, including the after-school program." McGee presses a button showing a group picture of adults and children; Lonnie and Jerrica were both in the picture.

"He deserted the Marines, and lied about knowing Jerrica," says Gibbs.

"Boss," says Tony DiNozzo, holding his cell phone. "The front gate texted me; the Baltimore police have arrived."

Oooooo

Minutes later, NCIS Medical Examiner Jimmy Palmer stands just outside the loading dock of NCIS headquarters. He sees an ambulance with its Baltimore Police motorcycle escort, as well as a motorcycle escort from the Washington Navy Yard's masters-at-arms force. Two men get out of the unmarked ambulance to greet him, both dark of skin and hair.

"Jimmy Palmer, assistant medical examiner, NCIS," says Jimmy.

"Detective Jason King, Baltimore Police," replies the man in the suit. "This is Dr. Pierce, our own medical examiner."

Jimmy looks at the other man, clad in a black jacket and billed cap, with spectacles framing his face. They shake hands.

"Excuse us while we get the body," says Dr. Pierce. He and King walks into the back of the ambulance and take down a gurney. On top of the gurney is a body bag.

Pierce hands Jimmy a form, as well as a ballpoint pen.

"You'll have to sign here for the body," says Pierce, presenting the NCIS assistant examiner with a form,.. "We also have test samples consisting of what appears to be blood spots on the victim's clothing, as well as control DNA samples from our suspect." Jimmy signs the form, and the Baltimore medical examiner countersigns. The Baltimore ME hands Palmer a carbon copy of the form, which acknowledges delivery of forensic evidence from the Baltimore Police Department to NCIS, confirming that custody of these items has not been breached.

"She's all yours, Mr. Palmer," says Pierce.

Ooooooo

"This never gets easier," says Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, the chief medical examiner for the NCIS MCRT. "So young."

Ducky and Jimmy stand over the nude corpse of Jerrica Reynolds, which is lying down on the examination table. The examination room is best described as very antiseptic. The lingering odor of formaldehyde permeates the room. The two medical examiners are clad in gowns. Ducky holds a stainless steel scalpel, gleaming under the bright light.

"Should we open the Baltimore ME's report?" asks Jimmy, holding a manila envelope that Dr. Pierce had provided.

"No," replies Ducky. "The Baltimore police wanted a second opinion. We need to do this independently, drawing our own conclusion, excluding any bias we would get from reading the existing report."

Dr. Mallard starts his examination of the body, taking a closer look with a trained medical examiner's eye, noting details that laymen would completely overlook.

"I feel a dent in her skull," says Ducky. "She was hit in the head. There are puncture wounds. This means the weapon was a long, thin, and pointed at the end."

"Like a screwdriver?" asks Jimmy.

"Maybe,. It is so tragic. She was nineteen years old. I was at college in London. I can tell you stories. Not as exciting as Tony's stories, mind you, or even Timothy's. Oh, there it is."

"What?"

Ducky points at a tiny hole on Jerrica's chest. "That looks like her fatal wound."

Jimmy looks at the young woman. He himself is a father, and he knows that McGee and Bishop paid a visit to Jerrica's own father yesterday. He wonders how he can handle Victoria being murdered.

"We need to open her up to finish this examination."

And so the two medical examiners look at Jerrica, her body cavity opened up, exposing her insides. The corpse had already been opened up before by Dr. Pierce, so they simply used the same lines to make the incision.

"I see something, doctor," says Jimmy, looking at the exposed heart.

"A hole," replies Ducky. "Her heart was punctured. She probably went into cardiac arrest."

Ooooooooo

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! " exclaims Abby Sciuto, the NCIS forensics technician, in her typical chipper voice.

Gibbs glances at Abby, clad in her typical white coat, with her black hair tied in ponytails. She is one of the best forensic scientists in the entire world, let alone the United States of America. She only took a day or two to get results which state crime labs would not get for weeks. Her reputation is such that local law enforcement would refer cases to her if there was any tie to the Navy- and a case where a Marine deserter was accused of rape and murder qualifies as such.

"What is it, Abby?" asks the NCIS agent.

The forensic scientist shows Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee, and Bishop a screen, with vertical line segments lined up horizontally.

"The test samples collected from the crime scene match the control samples from Corporal LaGrange,"says Abby, sipping a Caf-Pow! in excitement. "We got him!"

Corporal Lonnie LaGrange sits inside a nearly bare room in the Baltimore City Jail. He is accompanied by his attorney, Naomi Wilde. The only sources of light are an overhead fluorescent lamp and a window with steel bars.

Sitting across from them is Assistant State's Attorney Ben Brooks and Baltimore Detective Jason King.

"By now you should be aware of the DNA test results from NCIS," says the prosecutor.

"We are considering our options," replies the public defender.

"I have to admit, we got results much faster from them than we would get from the state crime lab."

"They just have more cases to work on. Are you offering a deal?"

"A deal?" asks LaGrange. "You mean go to prison?"

"I'd like to give you a chance to leave prison alive," says Wilde.

"I didn't kill her!"

"Let's wait for the feds to arrive from Washington," says Brooks. "I am sure you will be more amenable to a deal once you hear what they have to say."

And so they all wait inside the meeting room for many minutes.

Three men enter the room. Corporal LaGrange recognizes two of them. One of them, a gray-haired man a gray coat over a crew-neck sweater, is NCIS Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The second man, with dark hair, dressed in a classy business suit, is NCIS Agent Anthony DiNozzo.

The third man stands out most of all, primarily because he is dressed in the olive-green class "A" Marine Corps duty uniform. Ribbons are pinned on the left side of his chest, including a Purple Heart. Silver oak leaves on his shoulders and collar reveal his grade. He himself is tall, appearing to be in his early forties, with a rye-toast complexion and closely-cropped black hair. In summary, he looks as if he could be a stand-in for Duane "The Rock" Johnson.

"Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Bullrider," says the Marine. "Marine judge advocate assigned to act as trial counsel for the general court-martial that will try Corporal Lonnie LaGrange for desertion, rape, and murder."

"I am Naomi Wilde, the corporal's defense attorney," says Wilde. She looks at the Marine colonel, and then quickly notices the wedding ring on his left ring-finger, quickly extinguishing a path of thought like liquid nitrogen on a burning log.

"Your client, Corporal LaGrange, is still in the United States Marine Corps," says Bullrider. "He was never lawfully separated from the service. That means that everything he did since he first enlisted falls under the jurisdiction of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That includes the rape and murder of Jerrica Reynolds, which we have DNA evidence."

"Where are you going with this?" asks the defense attorney.

"The UCMJ authorizes the death penalty for rape and murder," answers the colonel.

Silence dominates the room for a minute. LaGrange just bows his head. Naomi Wilde told him, when they first met, that he would not face the death penalty. But that had been based on the assumption that he was lawfully separated from the Marine Corps.

The public defender has not been anything other than honest with him. She told him, up front, that it looked back that he denied knowing Jerrica Reynolds when there was a group picture of him. And she had informed him of the DNA test results minutes before this meeting.

"The prosecution will have a much easier time than the defense," she said.

"Listen," says ASA Brooks. "We could cut you a deal to avoid execution.."

"There will be no deal, Corporal LaGrange," says Colonel Bullrider. "After the state court proceedings are done, we will proceed with the court-martial, and we will seek the death penalty."

"Colonel, please," begs Naomi.

"The next time I see your client, it will be when he enters his plea before a general court-martial. A general court-martial that will try a capital case."


	4. Chapter 4

Ooooooo

"I was hoping for a deal," says Baltimore Assistant State's Attorney Ben Brooks.

"I've seen the evidence," says Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Bullrider, walking along the corridor inside the Baltimore jail while Brooks rolls along in his wheelchair. "I have a solid case for the death penalty."

"Murder trials are emotionally taxing on the victims' families. I've had over twenty years' experience prosecuting murder cases. I've spoken with Jerrica's family. They would rather have their daughter's killer go to prison forever and move on with their lives without the grueling ordeal of having to look up the latest news on the trial, wondering if some technicality would come up that would set their daughter's killer free. We can spare them this if you could give him immunity in exchange for Corporal LaGrange pleading guilty in our courts."

"Mr. Brooks," replies the colonel, "your legislature abolished the death penalty in Maryland. I am sure there was lengthy debate, and they judged that it was what was best for the state and people of Maryland. However, Congress has not yet abolished the death penalty for murder under the UCMJ. I've looked at the case, and this is exactly the kind of case Congress had in mind when they authorized execution for rape and murder."

"is there any way you can reconsider?"

"Do you have the right man?" Colonel Bullrider asks Brooks as well as Gibbs and DiNozzo.

"We have the right guy, Carlos," says DiNozzo. "Abby's tests confirms it."

"If she was wrong, if you are all wrong, I will drop the charges. Otherwise, we will proceed to court-martial."

Ooooooooo

Agent Gibbs sits inside a diner in downtown Washington, D.C. . In front of him a plate of chicken-fried steak, eggs, and diced potatoes. This a favorite diner of his and the other agents of the MCRT. It is early evening, the street outside lit by electric streetlights and the residue of daylight. The diner is packed as it usually is in early evening, Gibbs recognizing many of the customers. From the kitchen the odors of various types of food drift into the dining area.

"Agent Gibbs?" asks a female voice, which Gibbs's ears recognizes as that of Naomi Wilde. He looks and the lawyer is accompanied by a scruffy-dressed woman with much darker skin, whose most prominent feature is a pregnant belly.

"Miss Wilde," says the NCIS agent. "Glad you can make it."

"I hope we're not wasting your time," says Wilde.

"It's a good excuse as any to have dinner here. Did you find the place all right?"

"Yeah, it only took us maybe five minutes to find parking."

"My name is Kaya," says the pregnant woman. "I am Lonnie's wife."

"When is the baby due?"

"In September."

"September, eh? Jerrica Reynolds was born in September. September 13, 1996. She only lived nineteen years when your husband raped and murdered her."

"Lonnie would never do such thing. He never wanted to hurt people. In fact, that's why he…."

"He what?"

"Spousal privilege, Agent Gibbs," says Wilde.

"Fortunately, I am free to say that we have a DNA match with the blood found on Jerrica's clothes. That will be presented during his court-martial. You are aware that Corporal LaGrange could be executed, right?"

"He wouldn't do such a thing," says Mrs. LaGrange.

"Right now, the evidence is stacked against him. If we go to trial with what we have now, he'll be convicted."

Kaya stands up. "You think, that because he grew up in a bunch of foster homes, with no real parents, that he has no morals and would just kill a girl? He wanted a family all his life. He enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school just so he could have a family. After leaving the Marines, he was lost. But in Baltimore, he found me. He found the homeless. He found kids in need. We are his family, Mr. Gibbs. He would never turn against his family."

"You say he joined the Marines to have a family," says Gibbs, standing up. "He abandoned his family then, back when they needed him the most! Many of his brothers and sisters in arms gave all, and he abandoned them to their fate!"

"He could have abandoned me and my baby in the middle of the night, Mr. Gibbs," says Kaya. "He could have gotten away if he did that. But he insisted that I come along. He grew in the past thirteen years since he was in the Marines. He knows how valuable family is."

"Okay, Naomi," says Gibbs. "I am wondering. Why did you choose to be a public defender?"

"I believe in the American system," replies the defense attorney. "Innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But it can't work without people like me. When the state accuses people like Corporal Lonnie LaGrange of crimes like rape and murder, someone has to challenge the evidence, to see if their case for guilt holds up, to hold the state accountable to the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

"My father was a sergeant in the National Guard. He was killed in the first Gulf War; he was awarded a service cross. He died to protect those principles. I choose to live to protect them."

Memories surface in Naomi's mind. She recalls the funeral, with men in blue uniforms and white hats carrying the casket. Another blue-suited man gave her mother a folded American flag to her mother. She was barely old enough to understand that her father would not be coming back, that he would no longer play with her, that he would no longer hold her, that he would grow up without her. It is still a sad memory, even twenty-five years later.

"And Corporal Lonnie LaGrange ran away instead of protecting the principles which you live for and for which your father died for," replies Gibbs. Now, is there anything you have that suggests that we have the wrong guy."

"Not at this time," answers Wilde. "We're still looking into this."

"Well then, we can talk about the food, How about I pay for dinner for the four of us?"

Oooooooo

After a hearty dinner, and after Kaya LaGrange and Naomi Wilde had left, Gibbs calls Tony DiNozzo on his cellular telephone.

"DiNozzo," says Gibbs, "We'll need to work late tonight. I have a hunch on what the corporal was doing while deserting the Marines."

Ooooooo

"So we're doing this after hours thing again," says Delilah Fielding.

She recalls the last time the NCIS MCRT worked late hours on a seemingly solid case. They thought they had cornered a drug dealer who had killed her partner for a larger share of the money- but the truth was much, much worse. Delilah still shivers at the memories of that case.

She had these same shivers upon hearing the details of the case against Lonnie LaGrange.

Like Baltimore ASA Ben Brooks, Delilah relies on a wheelchair, although she has full use of her arms while Brooks only has limited use of his left hand.

"We need to know what else the corporal did," says McGee.

All of the agents of the MCRT look through the paper trail, trying to track the life of Lonnie LaGrange ever since he failed to report for duty thirteen years before. While the corporal had been off the grid, he had not been too careful in laying low, but then again, bringing in him on desertion charges was not exactly the top priority of the United States Marine Corps, what with having to fight a war on terror and all.

They compare his trail with a list of unsolved rapes and rapes-murders that happened around the same time LaGrange was within fifty miles within two months. It takes a lot of effort to narrow it down.

"We got something, Boss," says DiNozzo. "It's an unsolved rape in San Clemente, near Camp Pendleton, from March of 2003, just a week before the corporal stopped showing up for duty. The victim resembles Jerrica Reynolds, and the description of the suspect matches that of the corporal."

"Then we need all the information," says Gibbs. "We need copies of the police reports. And we need the rape kit to match it to the corporal."

"I already made the requests, and I'll follow up on it, Boss."

"And someone will actually have to speak to the victim," says Gibbs.


	5. Chapter 5

NCIS Agent Eleanor Bishop feels tired.

She had flown from Dulles to Los Angeles International Airport on a Boeing 767, on a redeye flight. The NCIS agent had slept most of the way, as there was nothing interesting to see below at night- just a sea of darkness with islands of electric lights. She had been awakened by feeling the landing gears touch the runway in Los Angeles. She then waited, amid throes of passengers and visitors, for a car from the NCIS Office of Special Projects to pick her up. Then came the meeting with the old lady Henrietta Lange and the rest of her team to explain what was needed.

She looks around. Both sides of the street are lined with wooden electric poles and apartment buildings. She knows she is very close; she had been asleep while they had been on San Diego Freeway, and only kept an effort to stay awake when the driver exited off the freeway.

"Here it is," says Los Angeles Police Department Detective Marty Deeks, turning the steering wheel and depressing the brake. "Clark Avenue."

The Ford Crown Victoria stops in the middle of the intersection. Bishop can see the green sign for Clark Avenue, hanging under a mast arm that also held a traffic signal. That mast arm is attached to concrete pole, which also anchored a street light just above the traffic signal. Pairs of wires connected each mast arm to crossbars mounted on the concrete pole; Bishop briefly wonders if these pairs of wires transmit power to the street light and traffic signal.

The opposing traffic is clear, and Deeks makes a left turn. To the left is a row of hedges, and to the right are single-family residences. The police detective parks the car at an empty spot parallel to the street.

"Okay," says Deeks. "we're here."

Bishop steps out of the car, carrying a folder with information on the victim from 2003. The agent and the detective approach the door and ring the doorbell.

A woman in her early thirties answers the front door. She is dressed casually, with a long skirt and blue blouse. She has loosely-curled honey-colored hair, and she has a complexion like a Starbucks frappucino.

"Are you Brianna Needles?" asks Agent Bishop, showing her NCIS badge.

"Yes," replies the woman. She looks at the two visitors, both with fair skin and blond hair. One is a woman in her early thirties, the other is a bearded man in his late thirties. Both are dressed casually, though the woman wears a coat, unusual for spring time in southern California.

"Agent Eleanor Bishop, NCIS."

"Detective Marty Deeks, LAPD," says Deeks.

"You said you had a lead regarding what happened in 2003."

"Brianna," says Bishop, "I read the reports. It might be helpful if you told us."

"I was sixteen," replies Needles. "I was trying to assert independence, adulthood. I was sixteen, I didn't know what being an adult was like. We were at a party, and we chatted with these guys who said they were from Camp Pendleton. One of them was cute, and I talked to him. He was tall and black. We kissed. I liked it. But he wanted to go further. I wasn't ready. I was a virgin. Until he.." Tears flow down Brianna Needles's cheeks, at the memory from so long ago which nevertheless makes her like a helpless teenage girl when they surface. His hands rubbing on her. Her clothes being peeled of. The pain she felt when he first forced himself inside her.

"do you have a description of your rapist?"

"Black, early twenties at the oldest. He was clean shaven."

"And you reported it to the police," says Deeks, in a low, soft voice.

"Yes, the San Clemente police," replies Needles. "I went through these tests and the doctors examined me so that they can catch my rapist. But it's been thirteen years…"

"We have a lead in your case after all these years," says Bishop, holding the woman's hand. "We arrested a Marine for rape and murder. It turns out he deserted the Marines just a week after your assault. We asked for the rape kit and we will test it."

"So you caught the guy?"

"We'll find out."

A minute later, Bishop and Deeks walk back to the Ford Crown Victoria.

"I saw a Chipotle nearby," says Bishop. "Could we stop for lunch?

Ooooooooo

About ten minutes later, Agent Eleanor Bishop is having lunch inside a Chipotle Mexican Grill. The restaurant is located in a shopping center anchored by a Vons supermarket at the corner of Ximeno Avenue and Atherton Street, not far from where Brianna Needles lives. The interior has stainless steel tables and countertop. The food was ordered assembly-line style, with tortillas and types of meat and cheese and salsa and other toppings ordered as the customers moved along the line.

"Glad to treat you," says Marty Deeks. "I hope Kensi doesn't have a problem with this."

"Maybe you should get some chips and salsa to go for her," says Eleanor Bishop.

She continues eating her meal. In balance, it is pleasant for her to go out of the D.C. area.

"I remember something about Corporal LaGrange," says Bishop, relying on memory skills that served her well when she was with the National Security Agency. "His birth mother lives in the area."

"And?" asks Deeks.

"Since I am in the area, I might as well ask her a few questions. She might have had contact with her son. We might be able to find out where else he had been, and if there were other unsolved crimes at the time."

"I am warning you, Agent Bishop. The area is larger than the D.C. area. It could take us three hours."

"Well, that's shorter than a flight back to Dulles."

"Okay, Miss Bishop," says the Los Angeles detective. "But we're not taking you to Disneyland."

Oooooooooo

From their lunch at Chipotle, it is only about an hour and a half later than Agent Bishop and Detective Deeks get to meet with Mabel Boardus, nee LaGrange, the mother of Lonnie LaGrange. The elder LaGrange lives in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Bishop had reviewed her file on the way there.

Mabel Boardus lives off one of the streets that branch off from Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. The street is lined with single-family residences.

"Why come on in," says Mabel Boardus, once Bishop and Deeks introduce themselves. They glance at their host- a dark-skinned woman in her early fifties his tightly-curled black hair, wearing a green dress.

They do indeed come on in. The living room is small, with a coffee table, sofas, chairs, and a television. A desktop computer sits in a corner on a wooden desk.

"We want to ask about your son, Lonnie LaGrange," says Eleanor Bishop. "Your firstborn, when you were sixteen. The one you gave up for foster care."

"I don't know if he was firstborn."

"What do you mean?" asks Marty Deeks.

"Gramma!" says a little girl's voice. "Look what I colored. Who are these people?"

"Just some people who need help," says Boardus. "Grandchildren," she says to Bishop and Deeks.

"You said that Lonnie wasn't your first born?" asks Bishop. She had read the documentation. She briefly wonders if there had been some sort of data entry error that misidentified the mother of Lonnie LaGrange.

"I had two twin boys when I was sixteen," says Mabel Broadus. "I was too young to raise babies, so I had to give them up…"

Bishop instantly knew that this became a lot more complicated.

Ooooooooooo

Two days later, NCIS Agent Timothy McGee is once again, riding shotgun inside a Ford Crown Victoria.

"Here we are," says NCIS Agent Meredith Brody. She turns the steering wheel to the left to guide the Ford Crown Victoria from Poydras Street to Convention Center Boulevard. She drives along the asphalt surface before parking just outside Harrah's New Orleans, a hotel/casino in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The two NCIS agents step outside the car. McGee had traveled to New Orleans to follow a lead on the Lonnie LaGrange case, meeting with Agents Pride, LaSalle, Brody, and Percy. Their new lead is supposed to be at Harrah's, and Brody drove him here.

The sounds of the various brands of slot machines like Double Diamond, Triple Stars, and Wild Cherry fill the casino. People of all sorts sit at the machines, pulling on the handles and feeding twenty dollar bills hoping to hit the jackpot. McGee and Brody walk past some tables games like three-card poker, baccarat, and blackjack, hearing patrons scream in excitement or sulk in disappointment. Cute waitresses walk along the casino floor with tables of various types of alcoholic beverages.

"Are you going to hit the tables and slots after we're done?" asks Brody.

"I don't know," replies McGee.

"your flight back doesn't leave until tonight."

"Well, maybe."

"And Pride could fix you a little snack before we take you to the airport."

As tempting as it is to have a little fun at the tables and slot machines and video poker machines, their goal is the publishers' convention being held that day. The noise of the casino games fade away as soon as they reach the convention area. McGee and Brody see prospective authors mingling with publishers at their tables. Seminars are scheduled.

McGee looks at the schedule posted on a stand.

"That's where he is," says McGee.

Ooooooo

McGee and Brody sit on chairs, next to each other, among many other budding authors, editors, and publishers, all to hear a seminar given by one Toby Pembroke. Some of the gusts make small talk with each other, while others clutch their notepads and ballpoint pens.

A woman in her early twenties, with light brown hair and wearing an outfit resembling those of 1950's beatniks, walks up to the podium.

"It is my honor to introduce to you our host, Toby Pembroke," she says.

And Toby Pembroke appears to address the audience. He is clad in a green collared shirt and khaki slacks. The audience clap their hands

But that is not the most important thing NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee notices about the host.

 _He looks just like Corporal Lonnie LaGrange_.

Pembroke gives his speech and takes questions from the audience. McGee actually makes the effort to take notes, as the subject matter interests him, for he is a writer in his spare time.

Finally, Pembroke's speech is over. McGee walks up to him.

"Uh, Mr. Pembroke," he says. "I'm Thom E. Gemcity. I'm an author."

"Nice to meet you."

"And I'm Meredith …uh, McClellan," says Brody.

"Have you been published?" asks Pembroke.

"I have," replies McGee. "You know, I actually type all of my drafts on an old-fashioned typewriter."

"My grandpa used to use one of those," replies Pembroke. He looks at the two guests, who both have short brown hair, one male, one female, dressed casually. They appeared to be two eager authors.

"Any favorite authors?" asks Brody.

"I enjoy S.M. Stirling," replies Pembroke. "He's the author of the _Emberverse_ book series; the latest book in that series in due in September. I actually met him at a convention maybe two or three years ago."

"May we buy you a drink?" asks Brody.

"Sure," answers Toby Pembroke. "You might as well mingle with other publishers."

oooooooooo

NCIS Agent Anthony DiNozzo walks through the halls of the Headquarters of the Department of the Navy Judge Advocate General Corps, located in Falls Church, Virginia. He is familiar with the place, having had to meet with prosecutors and defense attorneys and even testify in courts-martial. The NCIS agent walks through the main office, divided into cubicles. It is early evening, and the cubicles are empty save for a few judge advocates and paralegals, tying up loose ends on their respective assignments.

Tony walks to one of the side offices adjoining the main office. The door is ajar, and he knocks.

"Carlos?" he asks.

"Oh, Tony. Come on in," replies Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Bullrider.

Tony walks and sits inside the office. The colonel is sitting behind a desk, the coat of his Class "A" hanging on a rack. . Tony had been inside this office before on more than one occasion, and everything- the file cabinets, desktop computer, U.S. Marine Corps recruitment poster with a Marine in dress blues as its centerpiece- looking pretty much the same as the last time he was here.

"How are things going in the office?"

"Fine. Right now we're trying to find gifts for the admiral's tin wedding anniversary this coming June. I mean, I can't believe it's been ten years. That was back during my first tour of duty here at headquarters. I heard the story about how he and his wife got together. It is quite a story. It would actually make a good TV series."

"I recall reading about the admiral's service record. Given the stunts he pulled, I'm surprised he wasn't kicked out of the Navy twenty years ago."

"Better men and women than me decided that the admiral was the right man for the job, just like the admiral decided that I was the right man for _this_ job. I heard you have an update on the LaGrange case."

"We were looking into unsolved rapes that happened around the time LaGrange was in the area. After looking further into his background, we found this."

Tony hands Carlos a folder with some papers. Carlos skims through them for about a minute.

"His name is Toby Pembroke," says Tony. "He was adopted in 1980; his birth mother was Mabel LaGrange. He's a publisher living near Memphis with a wife and two children. Agent McGee met him at a conference in New Orleans with assistance from the NCIS New Orleans office." Tony smirks. "McGee also lost a hundred dollars at the casino there."

"Did he find out something in exchange for his gambling losses?"

"We found that Mr. Pembroke is identical down to the DNA," replies the NCIS agent.

The Marine judge advocate reviews the documents Tony provided, as well as the case files on the Jerrica Reynolds murder. The details of the case surface in his mind.

"Let's take a look at Toby Pembroke," says Carlos. "Lives near Memphis, stable career in publishing for over ten years, married, two children. No criminal record, let alone a record as a sex offender. Zero connections with Baltimore except for a twin brother he never met."

"Okay."

"Now we look at Corporal Lonnie LaGrange. Deserted the Marine Corps thirteen years ago when he was needed the most, drifted around the country for eleven years before settling in Baltimore. He was in Baltimore when Miss Reynolds was murdered. When initially questioned by Baltimore police, he denied knowing Reynolds. Pictures on her InstaGram account prove otherwise. He was arrested while trying to flee Baltimore.

"In balance, Jerrica's killer is in the Baltimore City Jail."

"That's good."

"Nevertheless, Toby Pembroke is potentially exculpatory evidence. We will have to inform the corporal's lawyer about this development. Let's face it, Tony. If I were defending the corporal, this development would be like getting pocket aces in poker. So we'll need to find a way overcome those aces."

"The Baltimore PD is already on it. They are trying to find out if Mr. Pembroke was anywhere near Baltimore the night Jerrica Reynolds was killed. If he was nowhere near, our case is sealed."

"You have them working on it?"

"Mr. Pembroke's a civilian. If we find out he was the true culprit- and I'm not saying Pembroke is the killer, just hypothetically- our role is done, and prosecuting Jerrica's killer becomes the sole business of the state of Maryland."

"So we'll find out soon."

'Good night, Carlos," says Tony. "We'll keep you informed." The NCIS agent walks outside of the colonel's office, and then turns around. "By the way, do you happen to have some of your mom's jerk cooking still in the fridge?"

"Sorry, buddy. If you are looking for jerk, I can recommend a place. Not as good as my mom's, but it'll do."

Ooooooooo

Agent Gibbs sits at his desk in the MCRT. He takes time to review the latest on the LaGrange case. The sample from the kit from the 2003 San Clemente rape was tested, and it did not match, meaning that Corporal Lonnie LaGrange- and Toby Pembroke- were cleared as suspects in that unsolved case. Instead, the rape kit matched the DNA of a Marine who was killed in combat in 2007. The NCIS agent looks at a map of the United States, with pins stuck in known locations where LaGrange was. The Marine corporal did not leave much of a paper trail; there are gaps in his travels.

"Hey boss," says Agent DiNozzo. "Jason King has some news on Toby Pembroke."

"Did they prove that Pembroke was a thousand miles away the night Jerrica Reynolds was killed?"

"Actually, Boss," says DiNozzo. "A..little less than that."

"How little?"


	6. Chapter 6

Oooooooooo

"I hope we can go get some Memphis-style barbecue before we go back," says Baltimore Detective Jason King.

He and Agent Anthony DiNozzo walks along a corridor inside a police station in Southaven, Mississippi. They pass uniformed police officers, others in various types of clothes, and suspects in handcuffs. A uniformed police officer opens a door to an interrogation room.

Inside is a dark-skinned man wearing a short-sleeved plaid-shirt and blue jeans. DiNozzo and King immediately think of Lonnie LaGrange before remembering that the Marine corporal is in custody back in Baltimore, while the two of them are just south of Memphis.

"I know I don't have to talk," says Toby Pembroke. "I used to do research before becoming a publisher."

"Here's the thing," says King. "The Fifth means we can't question you while in custody unless you have a lawyer. But nothing in the Constitution prohibits speculation. In fact, speculation might be helpful to you. You'll need to know exactly what you are accused of when your lawyer gets here."

The Baltimore detective places a picture of Jerrica Reynolds on the stainless steel table. "This girl was raped and murdered in Baltimore. The night that happened, you had a room booked at the Historic Inns of Annapolis, near the State House. That can be less than an hour's drive from Baltimore."

Pembroke's eyes roll back.

"We have more, Mr. Pembroke," says DiNozzo. "The DNA taken from the scene matches your DNA."

Pembroke's eyes widen. "That's…that's impossible." His heart begins to race. He feels that his life that he built with his family is on the precipice of collapsing.

"It was a match, Mr. Pembroke," says King. "By next week, the state's attorney will file an extradition request."

The two men turn around to leave.

"Wait, I'll tell you why I was in Annapolis!" says Pembroke, desperation in his voice.

"We're listening," says DiNozzo.

"I was having problems with my marriage," says the publisher. "I connected with an old friend from high school, Kim. We texted and e-mailed. We decided to meet in Annapolis. I booked a room at the Historic Inn; I stayed there once on a business trip about three years ago. We met, had drinks and dinner at this place called Galway Bay. We went to the room- and nothing happened.

"If you say so," says King, turning around to leave.

"Kim couldn't go through with this. She couldn't take part in violating the marriage bed. So she left."

"Nice story," says DiNozzo. "If only we had a means to contact Kim."

"I'll give you her full name, address, phone number, e-mail."

Oooooooo

An hour later, Tony DiNozzo and Jason King are eating Memphis-style barbecue on a restaurant on Beale Street in downtown Memphis. The restaurant advertised itself as having the tangiest Memphis-style barbecue sauce anywhere in the world. Pedestrians walk on the sidewalk next to the brick-covered street. Cornbread is served at the restaurant.

"I worked with firefighters on arson cases," says Jason, sipping a red al that was served by a nice young lady in her early twenties. "I've heard stories, stories about how they have to make split decisions, decisions that could leave someone to die. How do we choose who lives or dies?"

"I wonder the same thing too," says tony. "Chris Pacci, Kate Todd, Jenny Shepard, Paula Cassidy, Ned Dorneget. To fallen heroes." The two men raise their drinks.

Tony knows that Jason is thinking of his sister Amber. They had first met back in 1992, when Tony was a college student at Ohio State. He saw a house on fire and two children were screaming. Jason was one of them, but there was no way to save Amber.

 _Or was there? Chris, Kate, Jenny, could things have turned out differently? Was there another-_

The NCIS agent's train of thought is interrupted with a cell phone call. Tony picks up and speaks. After about a minute or two, he hangs up the cell phon.

"Good news," says Tony. "We checked on Kim Coalfield's story. We have credit card charges for flight tickets, for food and drink from Galway Bay Irish Restaurant and Pub in Annapolis, a list of 1998 high school graduates confirming Kim Coalfield and Toby Pembroke graduated high school together."

"We can tell Southaven to let Mr. Pembroke go," says Jason. "I'm certain he didn't kill Jerrica. The thing is, LaGrange's attorney will try to convince a jury that Pembroke might have been the killer. Reasonable doubt is enough to acquit, both in Maryland and in the military."

Tony recalls the reports both from the Baltimore medical examiner Dr. Pierce as well as Ducky's report. The time of death could only been narrowed down to a three hour window.

"We'll ask Southaven to release Pembroke, and then go back to take a further look at this."

Jason extends his glass. "To Amber," he says, referring to his dead sister.

"To Amber," replies Tony.

Ooooooo

Corporal Lonnie LaGrange is led by a guard through the corridors of the Baltimore City Jail. Ever since he was arrested on that train, he had kept to himself, not conversing with the other inmates, instead merely silently listening as to how they were getting a bum rap.

He enters a meeting room and sees his attorney, Naomi Wilde.

"Do you have good news?" asks LaGrange. "Am I being released?"

"There's someone's here to meet you."

Lonnie sees the door open, and his jaw dropped. A man wearing slacks and a short-sleeved collared shirt walks in.

The corporal, of course, had heard about Toby Pembroke from Naomi, but he is now seeing Toby for the first time. It is like looking at a mirror. He sees the same tightly-curled black hair, the same dark skin, the same broad, flat nose.

"What you say to him isn't protected," says Wilde. "You can stay silent."

"I never knew," says Pembroke, sitting across from his identical twin brother. "When my parents adopted me, they did not tell me about you, that you were also up for adoption. I'm now wondering what it would have been like if they adopted you and me, for us to grow up as identical twin brothers. Would we have been best friends? I'm sure you would have turned heads being the best man at my wedding. And I wonder how my kids would have grown up having an identical twin uncle.

"I heard you are married. I even spoke to your wife. She thought I was you. Your lawyer here had to remind her who I was. And I find out I'm going to be an uncle again."

"Brother," says Lonnie, crying with joy, the first time he felt joy since being arrested on that Amtrak train. He had been in foster care for his entire childhood, bouncing around foster homes. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps looking for a family to belong to.

It was not until he met Kaya so many years later that he found what he was looking for. He recalls the joy he felt when he first learned that Kaya was pregnant.

And now his family has gotten bigger, with a brother who had been with him before he was born.

"I heard bad things about you," says Toby. "I heard you raped and killed a girl. I heard they found your DNA on her. I heard you lied to the police about her. It's hard to believe that you, my reflection, could do such a thing."

"I didn't do it!" he yells.

"Go ahead. Lie to my face. I'll know it's a lie anyway."

"I didn't kill Jerrica."

Minutes later, Toby and Naomi walk out, meeting with Jason King, Tony DiNozzo, Baltimore Assistant State's Attorney Ben Brooks, and Colonel Bullrider.

"So much for using your looks to get him to confess," says Bullrider.

"I believe him," says Toby. "I know the kind of face I make when I'm lying. He didn't make that face. His face was the face of truth. I know you got the wrong guy."

"The DNA," points out Brooks. "It matched him. It matched _you_."

"Yes, I know about the DNA test. But something's wrong. My brother did not do this."

Ooooooo

"I'm sorry they could not see this your way," says Naomi Wilde, sitting behind the desk in her office in the Baltimore Public Defender's Office.

"I'm not surprised," says Toby. "First, I get arrested for rape and murder. I was told that there was a DNA match. Then I am told that I have an identical twin brother already in custody."

"Did you think he was guilty?"

"Up until he denied it to my face, I thought he was guilty. I went in there expecting him to confess. What can happen to him? The state of Maryland doesn't have the death penalty, right?"

"That's right," replies the lawyer. "But your brother is still technically in the military, and the military still has the death penalty."

"And if this were to go to trial, you will try to blame this on me, right?"

"I have a professional duty to represent your brother. It is my duty to challenge the evidence, and to present evidence, testimony, and arguments that would give a jury reason to acquit. So the answer would be yes."

"I see," replies Toby,. Pausing for a while. "You know, I called my wife about this, said everything. She was mad that I tried to have an affair with my old high school friend. I wonder if I would have gone forward with it if she didn't get cold feet. But she's willing to take the kids so they can see their uncle. And now, I might lose him."

"Listen, we're doing…" Naomi is interrupted by the ringing of her desk telephone. "Yes, this is Naomi Wilde…You can't be serious….Listen, I'd like to be there to observe the interview."

"What's wrong?" asks Toby, having seen the worried look on Naomi's face.

"You,…you remember that your brother did volunteer work from an after-school program," says Naomi. "

"Uh, no."

"One of the girls called the police and said Lonnie sexually abused them. The police are going to take a statement. I'd better be there."

Toby responds by bowing his head in silence, trying to take in what the public defender had just said. He wonders what kind of life Lonnie has been living.

And he wonders if he could have turned out the same way.

ooooooooooooo

Naomi Wilde walks to the squad room inside the Baltimore police station. She had been here on more than one occasion during her time as a public defender, getting statements from police officers. She walks past the desks and into one of the offices. The office is crowded, with several people in there, including NCIS Agent DiNozzo, Baltimore Detectives Jason King and Zack Stone, Baltimore Assistant State's Attorney Ben Brooks, and Marine Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Bullrider.

The person that most stands out is much shorter than the others. Her black hair is tightly-curled and tied in pig tails. She wears suspenders that look five years old.

Detective King looks at the girl. She looks like the kind of girl Amber would have been friends with. He glance as at the others. None of them want to ask questions nor hear answers, and yet it is necessary.

The detective takes a deep breath. "Keisha, do you know Lonnie LaGrange?" he asks.

"Yes, I know Lonnie," answers the girl. "He volunteered at the center. He and his wife. They're even having a baby."

"Did he do anything with you?" asks King.

"He first took me to his apartment a year ago. He wanted to give me a present. He showed me a video. There were naked people who rubbed each other with their bodies. He said that was people who loved each other did. He gave me this toy I wanted."

"Did you go back to his apartment?"

"Yes," says Keisha, a tear flowing down her cheek. "He said he would give me another present. He showed me the video with the naked people. He rubbed my chest and started to take off my shirt. I told him to stop, but he said that this was what people who love each other do, that I would like it. He took off his clothes and made me unbutton my pants. And then.."

Keisha burst into tears at the memories of the horrible abuse. All of the people in the office know what she is going to say next. They start feeling sick.

"He stuck his penis is me," says the girl. "Stuck his penis in my vagina. It hurt so much. I was crying, but he kept saying this was love. He was doing it because he loved me, and I loved himI felt something warm. He got off and told me that was his present to me."

Everyone standing lean against a wall to support themselves. They had just heard a horrid thing. Keisha is not even ten years old yet. Uit is hard to imagine that a man would do such a horrible thing.

"Did it happen again?" asks King.

"A few more times. I sometimes had to suck his penis, and he made me swallow this white stuff that came off. He called it love juice. He even took pictures." She loudly cries.

The adults in the room can only stare in shocked silence.

The memories of what was done to her surface.

The feelings of confusion.

The pain she felt when he first entered her.

The taste of that liquid.

The flash of the camera.

"I love you," he said. "This is what people who love each other do. If you love me, you'll swallow my love juice. You like the taste of me and my love juice? Do you feel pretty? We're talking pictures of our love. We all love each other. You taste so good. This is the best present you'll get."

It felt wrong. And yet, how could it be wrong? She loved him. He loved her. He loved the children. There couldn't be anything wrong with love, right? Love was supposed to be like those fairy tales. Sex was something that people who love each other are supposed to do. She was supposed to like sex with those she loves, right?

Tony DiNozzo hands both of his hands on the desk to keep himself from lying on the hard floor of the office. He looks at the crying girl. "Keisha," he weakly says, "why..why are you coming forward now?"

"I..I heard that Lonnie was arrested for killing Jerrica….I..I told Charlie. After I told him, he told me to go to the police."

"Charlie?" asks Jason King.

"He's a good man. He loves us." Keisha breaks down in tears. "He loves us."

"Thank you," says King, still shaken over hearing the harrowing statement. "You did a very brave thing."

Keisha leaves the office, still crying, escorted by a uniformed police officer.

All of the adults go into the squad room. Silence fills the room, as they regain their composure from hearing a tale that would be horrid enough in a fictional setting.

"Do you believe her story?" asks Colonel Bullrider in a soft voice.

"Almost all of it," says Naomi Wilde, in a near-inaudible tone.


	7. Chapter 7

NCIS Agent Timothy McGee sits at his desk inside the MCRT Squad room. He had heard the latest on the Corporal LaGrange case. He still feels disturbed about what he had heard. Agent Anthony DiNozzo usually has a chipper attitude, but that had been buried by the girl's harrowing statement at the Baltimore police station.

McGee was not there to hear the words personally- unlike DiNozzo, who had heard all of the details.

He takes a deep breath. He knows the mission- to make sure Jerrica Reynolds's killer never goes free.

The telephone rings. "NCIS, Agent McGee," he answers.

"This is Dr. Pierce, Baltimore Medical Examiner," says the voice on the phone.

"Hi, Dr. Pierce. What is this regarding?"

"The LaGrange case. There is a new development."

"I heard it from Agent DiNozzo. It's not something I'd like to talk about."

"I…know about _that_ development. But there's another. We found what appears to be a bloody fingerprint at the alley where Jerrica's body was found."

"After all this time?"

"We missed it the first time. Hard to believe; I have a trained eye. But these things have happened before."

"It could be anything," replies the NCIS agent. "That fingerprint could have been just from today, for all we know. The crime scene was a public place. And the blood residue might have degraded…"

"It's a lead. And given your track record, I would get a faster answer than the state crime lab. I'll personally deliver a picture of the fingerprint and the blood sample to your headquarters in Washington. Are you going to be there?"

"Listen, I have to head out to the field soon. But our lab tech, Abby Sciuto, will be here. I'll let her know you're coming and to give your sample top priority."

"Well, in my opinion we already have enough to give LaGrange a death sentence, but every little piece of evidence helps."

"Yeah."

Ooooooo

Over half an hour later, Dr. Pierce walks through the squad room of the MCRT in NCIS Headquarters. He wears his white lab coat, with an NCIS Visitor badge clipped to it. The medical examiner had been to Washington a couple of times, and in fact had delivered Jerrica Reynolds's body here not too long ago.

A gray-haired man in a gray coat greets him. "Agent Gibbs, NCIS, Major Crimes Response Team" he says, extending his hand.

"Dr. Pierce, medical examiner and forensics scientist for Baltimore," Pierce replies. "Great to meet you."

"Allow me to escort you to the lab."

Gibbs leads Pierce from the squad room through some hallways. They enter a room.

While the NCIS agent has been used to the room for fourteen years, the Baltimore medical examiner has not.

All of the equipment looks shiny, new, and modern. There are tables with various sorts of forensic equipment. And lest Dr. Pierce believed this is merely a case of style or substance, he is here expecting to get a fingerprint and DNA analysis quickly, while the first samples that he sent to the Maryland state crime lab have not even been tested yet. Not that he blames the techs at the state lab- they have thousands of cases to work on.

Still, Pierce feels like a boy in Toys R Us, with a one million dollar gift card. He briefly recalls at the late nights at libraries and early mornings in coffee shops, studying.

"Hello," says a dark-haired woman.

"Oh," replies Dr. Pierce. "I was admiring this lab." He introduces himself.

"Abby Sciuto, NCIS technician," replies the woman. She wears a white lab coat like Pierce, but her style is definitely different. Her hair is tied in pigtails, and she wears a black dog collar around her neck, in contrast to Pierce's blue collared shirt and red necktie. Her style makes her appear ageless.

"I have the samples here," says the Baltimore ME. "A picture of the fingerprint, and the blood sample from the alley."

Abby takes the samples. She uses the blood sample to run a DNA test. While they await the results, she runs a fingerprint analysis based on the picture that Pierce provided.

"It's confirmed," says Sciuto. "That is Jerrica Reynolds's fingerprint."

"Now we need to see if there was any useful DNA," says Gibbs.

"It could take a while," replies the NCIS lab tech. "and the murder was over a week ago. The sample might be too degraded to use."

"I've waited weeks for the state crime lab to return results," says Pierce. "Waiting a day isn't that bad."

Gibbs, Sciuto, and Pierce all wait in anticipation. They all know that the test result can make- or break- the case against Corporal Lonnie LaGrange. Their hearts beat. All three of them have had experience with unexpected test results changing the trajectory of a criminal investigation.

"We have a DNA readout," says Abby, pressing buttons on the device. "Now we compare it to known databases."

Dr. Pierce looks at an LCD monitor screen. He recognizes the pattern of vertical line segments all irregularly spaced that represents a DNA profile. He recalls the late night studying in order to master the subject.

He takes a closer look at the screen, comparing the test sample with the DNA profile provided by the United States Marine Corps.

"It's a match," he says. "It's a match!"

"That's right," replies Abby.

"We have everything we need to close this case," says Gibbs. "Good work, you two."

Abby gives Gibbs a hug. "Oh, thank you," she says. "I'll text the others."

"Wow," says Pierce, still greatly astonished by the lab. "So fast. The Navy pays for all this?"

"Yup," replies Abby, typing a text into her cell phone.

"I testified before a committee in the Maryland Senate in Annapolis about a month ago," says the Baltimore Medical Examiner. "I was begging for more funding for my lab and the state lab. I urged them that if I could do these tests faster, I can solve crimes faster." He checks Google Maps on his Apple iPhone. "Great, it's going to take over an hour to get back to Baltimore."

"Every little bit of evidence helps," says Gibbs. "This wasn't a waste of time."

Pierce walks outside the lab, and the turns back. "Oh," he says. "I almost forgot. I need a signature for the delivery of evidence, to maintain chain of custody."

"Of course," says Abby. She signs a form provided by Dr. Pierce.

Pierce retains a copy of Abby's signature. "We don't want Jerrica's killer to go free on some technicality," he says.

"No we wouldn't," replies Gibbs.

Ooooooo

 _Finally_ , thinks Dr. Pierce.

He steps out of his Audi and enters the building. The interior has an antiseptic architecture, resembling a hospital. This is the Baltimore forensics lab, where he had worked for three years. In this building, he examines the evidence and does autopsies on the bodies of Baltimore's murder victim.

He approaches the door to his private office, which is across the hall from the main lab.

"We have an update!" exclaims a voice.

The medical examiner turns his head and recognizes Detective Jason King.

"Yeah, the fingerprint was Jerrica's, and we matched the DNA from the blood to LaGrange," says Pierce. "The Navy people must have told you."

He sits behind the desk in his office. The layout is familiar to him, with then file cabinet, the desk, the computer monitor and keyboard that sits in on his desk. This office is practically one of his three homes.

"Except there shouldn't have been a match, Charlie," says King.

"What?" asks the medical examiner, confused at the detective's words.

Several other people enter the room, including some people with whom Dr. Charlie Pierce had worked with on other cases.

"It was my fingerprint in that alley," says Naomi Wilde. "I used nail polish."

"Nail polish?" asks Charlie, still confused.

"Miss Wilde painted her finger with nail polish, pressed it against the ground, and we took a picture, took a sample of the dry nail polish, and sent it to you," says Jason. "But when NCIS looked it over, Miss Wilde's fingerprint somehow turned into Jerrica's fingerprint and the nail polish became the blood of Corporal LaGrange."

"Wait." Charlie Pierce becomes nervous due to the detective's words.

"You falsified evidence, Charlie. How could you?"

Charlie bows his head. He knows that his wrongdoing has been exposed. He sweats profusely and his heart races.

"Jerrica was a great girl. She was attending Johns Hopkins, like I did. Her death devastated all of us. I wanted justice," he says, clenching his fist. "When I heard that you arrested her killer, that he was still in the military and could be put to death, I acted. I…I had samples of LaGrange's blood. I planted it on samples of Jerrica's clothes and sent them to NCIS. And..and when I heard about the fingerprint, faked that too. A bloody fingerprint would have been even more damning. I mean, Jerrica met LaGrange before. But a bloody fingerprint, there wouldn't have been an explanation unless LaGrange raped and killed her. So I used a picture of Jerrica's fingerprint and LaGrange's blood."

"How could you?" asks Abby Scuito. "You violated our trust- the trust of the police and people of Baltimore, the trust of NCIS! You violated my trust!"

"I know," replies Charlie, sorrowfully. "I just wanted Jerrica's killer executed." The forensic scientist takes a deep breath and steps back, putting up his hands. "What I did was wrong. My wanting LaGrange to be executed was no excuse." The medical examiner bows his head and slouches. "I…My career is over. I'll probably go to prison. And the man who raped and murdered Jerrica will likely go free."

"Two out of three isn't bad," says Jason King.

Pierce's sorrow and fear is momentarily overlaid with confusion. "Two out of three?" he asks. What do you mean?"

"When Abby here told us the test results, it was enough probable cause to get a judge to sign off on a warrant," says Agent DiNozzo. "Tim and Jason and I searched your place and downloaded the contents of your laptop's hard drive."

Charlie's eyes widen and his jaw drop, rage filling him. "You….you couldn't have!" he exclaims in shock and anger. "How…How dare you! You're not supposed to look at them!"

"You weren't supposed to take those pictures, Charlie," relies Jason. "We saw the pictures and the videos. So we're going to do a bit of speculating. One of the girls must have told Jerrica what was being done to her, but couldn't bring herself to say you did it. Jerrica, being naïve, decided to tell you, a medical examiner who worked with the police, a graduate of Johns Hopkins, the same place she was going to school. But she became loose end. She could expose your vile crimes. So you killed her. And with your knowledge of forensics and your position as medical examiner, you erased any evidence that you did it. And when I arrested the wrong man, it was a near-perfect opportunity for you to pin the blame and make sure he took the rap.

"But you couldn't have known that he had an identical twin. When NCIS found out, you needed to solidify the case. Those girls. No father figures, little time with their mothers because their mothers had to work three jobs to support them and their brothers and sisters, you gained their trust. Their minds were malleable. You…you abused them in the worst way possible. You twisted their minds to believe in a false idea of love. So you asked Keisha to prove she loves you by falsely accusing LaGrange of raping and abusing her. It seemed perfect. Keisha never knew of the twin brother, and she gave the location of Lonnie's address, just as you told her too. But your control over her wasn't complete. She gave us a clue. She said you loved her."

Jason walks to the desk and handcuffs Dr. Charlie Pierce. The moment the handcuffs clock, Charlie sobs.

"Jerrica didn't understand!" he cries, tears cascading down his cheeks like Niagara Falls. "Please! I …I loved those girls! They wanted it! They wanted to feel pretty! They wanted to feel loved! They needed the love of a man! I was just giving them what they needed! They loved me! Please don't do this! I didn't do anything wrong!"

Jason reads Charlie his rights. Charlie sobs even louder with sorrow and fear, he sobs at the prospect of prison life, he sobs over a fate that he feels that he does not deserve.

Ooooooooo

The cell door opens, and Marine Corporal Lonnie LaGrange looks and sees a uniformed guard.

"We're transferring you," says the guard.

LaGrange is led through some concrete hallways and out into a sally port where prisoners of the Baltimore City Jail are inducted. Several people are waiting for him, including his attorney, Naomi Wilde. He also recognizes some United States Marine Corps military police. In the distance is a van that looks like the type of van Marine MP's use to transport prisoners.

"The rape and murder charges against you have been dropped," says Naomi. "By both the state and the military."

"Thank you," Lonnie says softly. He had worked with the woman these past few weeks. She had been honest with him. She had plainly stated, a few days after they met, that the prosecution would have a much easier case than the defense. He is mature enough that he knows that he needs the truth, not soothing lies.

And what he just heard was a soothing truth.

Naomi looks towards Marine Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Bullrider, clad in his Class "A" uniform including his barracks cover with the anchor and globe. "Colonel Bullrider, I would like to propose a deal regarding the desertion charges," she says.

"I'm listening," replies the colonel.

Oooooooooo

Naomi Wilde had never seen a military courtroom outside of movies like _A Few Good Men_.

Now she is inside such a courtroom in JAG Headquarters in Falls Church. The layout is similar to the courtroom in the Maryland District Court, if she were to substitute the seal of the State of Maryland for the Seal of the United States Department of the Navy.

If there is one thing she enjoyed about her job as a public defender, it is variety.

Her client stands next to her at full attention. He is dressed in an olive-green Class "A" United States Marine Corps duty uniform, with corporal's stripes and all the ribbons that he had earned since his enlistment almost eighteen years before. NCIS Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, who had been a gunnery sergeant in the Marines, even helped Corporal Lagrange with his uniform.

"You violated your oath as a Marine, so you will face your punishment as a Marine," said the NCIS agent.

"Corporal Lonnie LaGrange," says the judge, who is also in an olive-green uniform. "You have plead guilty to desertion. Per the plea deal, which this court-martial ratifies, you will be sentenced to thirteen years' confinement, reduction in grade to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a dishonorable discharge. You had taken an oath on your enlistment, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, to obey the orders of the President of the United States and your superior officers under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. You violated that oath. You abandoned us, your brothers and sisters in arms, when we needed you. It hardly needs to be said that desertion is a serious crime, a mark of dishonor. You will no longer be able to wear the uniform of the Marine. You will never be able to claim the title or status of veteran. You, as of today, are without honor."

The corporal stands stoically, absorbing the words of the Marine judge.

"That said, that you can no longer wear the uniform of the Marine does not mean you can never live by the values of the Marine. That you are without honor today does not stop you from acting with honor later today or tomorrow. You past misdeeds mean you can never be considered a good Marine, and there will be severe consequences. How you deal with these consequences, how you choose to act from now on, will determine whether or not you become a good man."

The judge banks the gavel, and an MP handcuffs Corporal Lonnie LaGrange.

"Take care," says Naomi Wilde.

"The judge knows better than I do," says Colonel Bullrider.

Lonnie greets his brother.

"After all these years, I found you," says Toby Pembroke. "And I'm going to lose you?"

"Listen, bro," replies Lonnie, "You're not losing me. In fact, I'll be easy to find for the next thirteen years."

"I..I don't want you to go," says Lonnie's wife Kaya, a tear flowing down her cheek.

"I don't want to go, either, baby," replies her husband. "But we can't always have what we want; this is the right thing to do. Tell our baby that; it'll be the most important lesson."

"You'll be able to share in the teaching when we visit you," replies his wife, rubbing her pregnant belly.

Lonnie looks wistfully at his family. He had joined the Marine Corps and the Marines became his family, but he abandoned them when they needed him and now they are disowning him.

But while he must be away from his current family, he will never abandon them.

Ooooooooo

"I like your wife's pancit," says Tony DiNozzo, just recently having had swallowed some flavored rice noodles.

He stands in the backyard of the Bullrider residence, about a ten minute drive from JAG headquarters. It is dark, and Tony is right next to a table with two benches. Carlos Bullrider is with him, dressed in a sweater and jeans instead of the Marine Corps uniform. They can hear the Bullrider children playing inside the house.

"She learned it from her mom, who learned it from _her_ mom," replies Carlos, sipping a Corona lager from a glass bottle. "She also learned some jerk recipes from my mom, and my mom started experimenting with pancit and adobo recipes."

Tony looks through the windows, seeing the children. He feels something tugging at his very core "Kids," he says. "I can't imagine what they're like."

"I did a lot of reading about kids when I first found out I was gonna be a dad," replies Carlos. "But reading about it is not the same as actually _doing_ it."

"That case in Baltimore, it's so disturbing. That anyone could hurt children like that."

"I'm just glad I don't have the thankless duty of actually putting those kids on the stand." Carlos recalls both Keisha's description of the abuse and the _de facto_ confession of Charlie Pierce.

"I did hear an update on that case, Carlos," says Tony.

"Yeah, what is it, Tony?"

"Charlie Pierce sold those…those images and…movies over the Internet. That's a federal crime. The U.S. attorney and the FBI is meeting with NCIS and the Baltimore police and state's attorney."

"A federal crime, eh? Pierce killed Jerrica Reynolds to cover that up, which is also a federal crime."

"A federal _capital_ crime."

"I just wanted Jerrica's killer executed," Charlie Pierce had said.

 _He might get what he wanted_ , muses the NCIS agent.

Tony then looks towards the window, with Carlos's children still playing in the den. He thinks about children, how vulnerable they can be, and yet these children are the seeds of the future,. It is no wonder Jerrica Reynolds chose to help children. He thinks about what it would be like to have a child, and wonders if that would ever happen.

Oooooooo

Tony DiNozzo is at the rec center. He sees the boys and girls in the after-school program, the boys and girls Jerrica Reynolds helped. He watches as some of them play foosball. Others play shuffleboard.

He is not the only adult in here. Jason King and Naomi Wilde are here too. Kaya LaGrange is also here; some of the children ask when they can meet her baby.

And Ronald Reynolds is here, too. This is his first time to the place. He wanted to find out what his daughter was doing when not studying or attending classes at Johns Hopkins. Several children sit around him as he reads a storybook that Jerrica had read to them many times.

Jerrica's funeral had been yesterday. Almost all of the children here, along with their parents or legal guardians, attended. It soothed Ronald that his little girl was so loved by so many little girls and boys who lived in the same neighborhood he grew up in.

After Ronald finished reading, he sees the children smile, and he smiles back- the first time he did so ever since Jason King and Zack Stone visited him to tell him the worst news of his life. He walks to put the storybook away in a bookcase. He then sees Keisha standing by herself. The bereaved father feels additional sadness on top of his grief; Jason King had told him about what happened to Keisha and a few other girls here.

Keisha pulls back. It is not surprising, as she is experiencing terrible and confused feelings over the abuse, over processing the idea that what was done to her was not love.

Ronald stepped back, and then extended a hand. It would take a long time for Keisha and the other victims to be able to trust again, to feel safe.

But it was for children like her that Jerrica dedicated and gave her life.


End file.
